


It's Only Life

by sassafrassidy



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: AU, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 05:02:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7787710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassafrassidy/pseuds/sassafrassidy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gay dads AU where Joshua and Neku adopt Rhyme and Beat. Shikeri as self proclaimed aunts and Uncle Hanekoma. Just a few short little drabbles that will be updated occasionally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Only Life

**Author's Note:**

> All of this is dedicated to Kier (@ladyburnelli on twitter) who's been fueling me with cute little hc's along the way. (Also special shoutout to all you other joshnekus who've been fueling me on twitter ily all)

“Here we are, kids.” Neku opened the door and gestured for a short blonde child, Beat, to enter in front of him. It was a decently sized suburban house, furnished with expensive-looking furniture that had recently been child proofed. Beat walked in, taking his time to look around and inspect every inch of the entryway. He carried a skateboard in his hands, decorated with various stickers he had been collecting over the years. His favorite--a cartoon skull with a wide smile--was peeling at the edges. Behind him, Joshua entered, carrying Beat’s sister in his arms. She’d been sleeping the entire ride over; just now she was waking up and observing her new surroundings. Her new home.

“Yo, Mr. Sakuraba, this is a nice house!” Beat said. He propped his skateboard against the wall and began running through the house. At the age of six, he was full of boundless energy, and the prospect of exploring a new place outweighed whatever hesitation he had before arriving. Neku had been worried--Beat seemed less than excited to be moving in with them, still harboring some memories of his parents and mourning their deaths--but he hoped he’d adjust quickly. “Be careful,” Joshua called after him.

“I want to see, too.” Rhyme stirred in his arms.

“Let’s look together.” Joshua smiled softly at her. “Will you be joining us, love?”

“Gimme a sec.” Neku dragged two bags into the house. He knew Joshua wouldn’t be any help in moving the kids’ belongings in--he’d either avoid it by carrying Rhyme or worming his way out some way or another. By now, he was used to it, and didn’t really mind in the first place: he helped out in other ways.

Beat ran back into the entryway. “C’mon, c’mon! Where’s our rooms?”

“Now, hold on. Neku’s going to lead the way. He just needs to get your bags in.” Joshua shifted Rhyme, who was clinging onto his sweater. Mew Jr., the stuffed animal that Eri and Shiki had made for her when they declared themselves “honorary aunts,” was wedged in-between her arm and Joshua’s chest.

“Should you really be having them call me that? Isn’t something like dad better?” Neku caught up to the group, then started leading them up the staircase. “Neku seems a little… distant. And Mr. Sakuraba makes me feel old.”

Joshua chuckled. “If they’re comfortable. But we can’t both be dad. That’ll get confusing. Any ideas, Beat?”

Beat came to a stop on the stairs, then looked down at the ground. “Uh… I dunno…” He pulled on one of his wristbands. Neku felt a little bad putting him on the spot right then and there, then added, “Like Josh said, you don’t have to call us anything like that if you’re not comfortable. Take your time.”

“Aight… Pops.” Beat mumbled, his face flushing slightly.

“Oh, Pops, huh? Very Beat-esque.” Joshua chuckled again, and Rhyme turned to stare up at his face.

“Are you Pops, too?”

“Oh, no, no, not at all. I prefer something a little more formal… Something like, Father would be ideal, but I’m not opposed to simply Dad--”

“Papa Josh?” Rhyme asked, her voice calm and innocent.

There was a small pause, until Neku cracked up laughing. Joshua shot a glare at him, obviously not as amused, while Beat giggled. The hilariousness of the situation completely went over Rhyme’s head, and she stared at Joshua, waiting for his approval.

“I don’t--Maybe something else--”

One look was all it took from her to get Joshua to stop mid sentence. He couldn’t say no to a face like hers--cute, full of wonder, and the best puppy-dog-eyes he’d ever seen--and he simply sighed in defeat. “Okay. Papa Josh.”

By this point, Neku was on the floor, eating up the fact that Joshua had agreed to the name. “Papa Josh! What a good name, Rhyme!” he managed to say.

“Mhm, laugh it up, Pops.” Joshua retorted. “And what about Neku, Rhyme? What do you want to call him?”

“Hmmm…” Rhyme turned her attention to Mew Jr., whispered a few words to her, then nodded. “He’s Daddy.”

Neku was caught off guard by that, and now it was his turn to melt. If Rhyme already had Joshua wrapped around her finger, it didn’t take much more to get Neku there, too. Joshua was a little displeased with the name--he was hoping for something along the lines of Papa Josh--but he wouldn’t dare show it in front of Rhyme. He couldn’t risk making her sad.

Beat pushed past the two of them impatiently. “Pops, Dad, c’mon! You’re taking too long!”

“Coming, coming.” Neku laughed once more, picked up the bags, and followed after Beat.

“At least I’m Dad to one of them,” Joshua mumbled to Neku as he walked by.

The two of them led both of the children to their rooms, explaining that they could discuss repainting the rooms if they really wanted to. The rooms were adjacent, and both decorated fairly plainly--a shopping trip with Eri and Shiki was already planned in order to get any other accessories and necessities they might want or need. Beat coerced Rhyme to come down and explore the rest of the house with him, while Joshua and Neku unpacked.

“They’re both full of energy, aren’t they,” Joshua commented.

Neku folded a few of Beat’s shirts, then placed them into his drawer. “I don’t think we know what we got into.”

“Feeling a little nervous, love?”

“Please. If anyone should be nervous, it’s you, Papa Josh.”

Joshua glared at him, then tossed one of Rhyme’s dresses at his face. “ _Absolutely not._  Only _she_ can call me that.”

“Pfft, you’re in _deep!_ ”

“You’re one to talk. You’re already planning on buying them anything they want.”

Neku rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

The two fell into silence as they finished folding and putting away Beat’s clothes. When they moved to Rhyme’s room, Neku’s hand moved to Joshua’s, intertwining their fingers as he smiled at him. “Think we’ll be good parents?” A hint of nervousness showed in his voice.

“I think we’ll be fine.”


End file.
